Recently the ACSC undertook a project to identify organizational models for efficient collaboration on common defense with assistance from Mass Insight Global Partnerships, and in conjunction with research partner McKinsey & Company. Researchers worked with ACSC members and other experts, to interview CISOs, CIOs, analysts, business leaders and others in a range of sectors. These interviews measured “digital resilience,” and can offer some perspective on effective cyber collaboration.

Overall, the study found there is a strong correlation between collaboration and cyber security maturity however, most collaboration is informal and unstructured, which indicates potential opportunities for more structured activities and networks. But, significant gaps exist between more mature organizations and others, indicating potential for cross-fertilization of practices. You can download an executive summary or the full report by clicking the Download Now button below.

“Long-time security professionals know there is room for improvement,” said Executive Director Michael Figueroa. “The ACSC’s on-going research gives us a starting point to build an effective roadmap to improve resilience in our community. We focus on improving how we communicate our security challenges so we can build stronger defenses together.”

Five primary areas emerged as areas to explore for effective collaboration:

Cybersecurity Governance Requires C-Suite Leadership

Information Sharing: Expanding, but Barriers Remain

Third-Party Security Evaluations: A Collaborative Opportunity

Workforce Development: A Major Challenge and Collaborative Opportunity

Simulations: An Increasingly Important Training Opportunity

Over the course of the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing our thoughts on each of these collaboration areas with insight from members of the ACSC community.

“We are excited to take the primary themes gleaned from this survey and start applying them to our members benefit,” said ACSC Chairman Bill Guenther. “This is exactly the sort of information that allows organizations to improve their cyber maturity quickly and efficiently.”